IFTF Staff Posts

For the past several years, we have been experimenting with online gaming platforms as a way to broaden participation in discussions of complex strategic issues. The issues surrounding piracy in Somalia constitute just such an issue where economic, social, and political problems on the land are acted out by diverse players at sea.

On Monday, July 18, we were delighted to bestow the title of
Distinguished Fellow onto two of IFTF's most prolific contributors—Kathi
Vian and Jacques Vallée. Naming Distinguished Fellows is one of the
ways we honor those who have made exceptional, sustained contributions
to IFTF through research, writing, and mentorship.

Will California reinvent itself again for the 21st century? Can everyday
citizens be empowered to help transform California? Will California
keep growing, start conserving, reinvent itself, or completely collapse? These were the questions posed to the participants of IFTF's California
Dreams: Which Future is Yours contest—challenging everyday people to
make a better future for our state.

The digital peasants are getting restless. The first signs of unrest are evident in the stirrings of the bloggers filing a suit against the Huffington Post and its parent AOL, which acquired the publication in February for $315 million. The same writers who were happy to contribute for free before the sale are now accusing the publication of turning them into “modern-day slaves on Arianna Huffington's plantation."

This year, the first baby boomers reach the age of 65, making them senior citizens by most definitions. What does this dramatic demographic shift mean? Find out at the “A National Forum on the Future of Aging: Looking Ahead,” an event we’re hosting in San Francisco this Friday with the American Society on Aging. IFTF experts will be speaking, including Richard Adler, Health Horizons Director Rod Falcon and Research Manager Miriam Lueck Avery and Distinguished Fellow Bob Johansen.

Personal fabrication is a theme that continues to emerge in IFTF’s ongoing technology research. As attention is generated around using 3D printing for everything from organs to buildings, this week was an auspicious time for the Technology Horizons Program to hold its spring expert workshop, focusing on Open Fabrication, at the Autodesk Gallery in San Francisco.

Air pollution and asthma, climate change and natural disasters, drought and crop failures, wasteful practices and water shortages. Human health is directly tied to our planet's health and Institute for the Future research shows that the public is starting to understand this

With the recent passing of Paul Baran, one of IFTF's co-founders, we're releasing an excerpt of a report with forecasts from 1971 which has inspired more than 43 years of technology forecasting at IFTF and has spoken to countless audiences looking to connect and improve life using network technology.

Paul Baran, co-founder and early contributor to IFTF was the engineer who helped create the technical underpinnings for the Arpanet, the government-sponsored precursor to today’s Internet, died Saturday night at his home in Palo Alto, Calif. He was 84.

Reading the stories on Ruby's bequest has made me think about the future of caring in India. I was particularly taken in by the story of Frieda DSouza who is grappling with how to care for her mother from a distance (http://rubysbequest.org/story.aspx?sid=151). India is at an...

According to a recent study published by Pew Research, mobile phones and the Internet may strengthen family ties. "In what was described as the first detailed survey of its kind, released yesterday, researchers...

A social impact technology field is emerging as multiple innovators creatively apply technology to society’s most compelling social problems. These technologies are powerful tools for building new networks and communities for social action. While technologists work on the cutting edge of locative, crowdsourcing, social media, simulation and gaming, there is a great, untapped need and interest...

IFTF has just posted a menu of workshops based on our most recent research, facilitated by IFTF staff. In today's volatile, uncertain world, it seems impossibly difficult to forecast the future. Yet now is also the time when forecasting can be most valuable. It's a time when looking long can give you perspective, when thinking about the future can...

With the Ten-Year Forecast annual retreat just weeks away, the team has been fine-tuning our thoughts about the major reinvention our economy and society is undergoing. Our work on Superstruct last fall has given us a handful of strategies for reorganizing ourselves at both smaller and larger scales, and as I was reading the Ruby's Bequest stories this morning, it was obvious to me that they...

2008 was an inspiring year for us and despite external forces in the world today, we are moving into 2009—our 41st year—with new vigor. As Distinguished IFTF Fellow Bob Johansen puts it, 2009 "has great potential to be a springboard year." Across the world now more than ever is the time to invest in looking at what lies in the coming decade and beyond. We...

As part of the drill, Institute for the Future, the US Geological Survey (USGS) and Art Center College of Design created After Shock— the first Massively Multiplayer Collaboration game focused on a natural disaster.
This alternate reality game, After Shock engages players around the meta theme of a major earthquake in their city and invites them to respond to this crisis...

Chronicle the dark world of 2019. Then help us figure out how to fix it.
On October 6th, 2008, the Institute For the Future launched the world’s first Massively Multiplayer Forecasting Game: Superstruct.
More than just about imagining what lies ahead, Superstruct is about building a better, stronger future. It’s about inventing new ways to organize the human race and augment our...

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Howard Rheingold as Research Fellow at IFTF. This honorary title is reserved for a few select individuals who have shaped IFTF research in significant ways. Howard is the first person to receive this honor. We are exceedingly proud of our affiliation with Howard over the past several years and recognize that much of our work today builds on the...

As many of you know, this year IFTF is celebrating its 40th Anniversary—an important milestone in the life of the Institute and in the futures field. I’m proud to be a part of the IFTF team at this juncture when the Institute is experiencing a new level of energy and excitement. With our incredible staff and affiliates, many...

Mission Statement
Come shape the future with us!
Our mission is to establish a vibrant youth network of intrinsically motivated doers and learners who, unsatisfied with the status quo, want to create a better future. As youth in today's society, we consider it our duty to realize our potential, and take action toward creating the world we want to see. If we don't, who will...

My credit card was stolen from bag, and thankfully I was able to report the theft and do quick damage control because I had internet connectivity and international calling on my iphone to report the theft and disable the card. The person who stole my credit card had gone on a shopping spree buying stuff worth thousands of dollars within a span of few hours. As I was out in the field when I...

I am in India conducting research, and as always amazed by the variety of cell phones and hacks that are available. One of our research partners brought my attention to the fact that many people in India have unlocked iphones, and have jail-breaked their iphones to install 'non-Apple" applications. A popular application is twinkle -- a twitter client that includes location based service...

This site was created to showcase the combination of celebrity gossip
and environmental causes! At first it was just an experiment, but it
turned out to be a success for gossip fanatics. It is a great way to
grab different audiences, and providing them with awareness of the
green issue that is occuring today. This site incoporates gossip news
of how, why, and...

Global connectivity, smart machines, and new media are just some of the drivers reshaping how we think about work, what constitutes work, and the skills we will need to be productive contributors in the future. This report analyzes key drivers that will reshape the landscape of work and identifies key work skills needed in the next 10 years. It does not consider what will be the...